Puppets



A. E. DEAL PUPPEIS July 21, 1970 Filed July 18, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. ALICE E. DEAL ATTORNEY A. E. DEAL July 21, 1970 PUPPETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1968 ATTORNEY United vStates Patent Office 3,521,399 Patented July 21, 1970 3,521,399 PUPPETS Alice E. Deal, 1352 Sheridan Drive, Lancaster, Ohio 43130 Filed July 18, 1968, Ser. No.745,781 Int. Cl. A63h 3f 14 US. Cl. 46-154 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to hand puppets, and more particularly to an inexpensive easily made puppet especially suited for use by children. 1

Puppets into which a hand may be inserted to manipulate the puppet have long entertained children and adults. These types of puppets range in sophistication from a simple piece of cloth attached to a solid molded head to the complex lifelike puppets which have movable eyes and mouths and which are used by ventrilo quists.

The basic components of a puppet of the types discussed above are a simulated body of some creature, such as a human, into which the hand is inserted, a simulated head into which one or several fingers may be inserted, and desirably some movable portion which can be moved by the hand to simulate a body movement, such as' mouth movement.

There is a need for a simple and inexpensive puppet having these three basic features, yet capable of being made quickly by children, and capable of being easily manipulated by them.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide an improved hand puppet.

A further object is to provide a puppet which can be inexpensively made from materials readily available to children in their homes.

A further object is to provide a puppet which is simple to manipulate and therefore capable of manipulation by children.

A further Object is to provide a puppet which permits a child to use a wide degree of ingenuity and personal expression in the construction and design of such puppet.

Further objects and features ofmy invention will be apparent from the following specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating several embodiments of my invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have found that the foregoing and other objects may be attained in a hand puppet comprising: (a) a sack having an open end for insertion of a human hand, a closed opposite end, and an intermediate body portion; and (b) an image of a creature attached to the closed end and to the body of the sack by a suitable adhesive so that movement of the end relative to the body represents a body motion of the creature.

These objects are particularly well attained in a puppet as described above, comprising (a) a sack, in a selected position having an open bottom end for permitting insertion of a hand into the sack, and a relatively fiat top end, the sack being suitably creased near the fiat end to form a hinge portion, the hinge portion comprising an upper pivotable piece fixed at its outer edge to an edge of the flat end of the sack and pivotally connected by a crease to the 'body of the sack; and (b) an image of a creature attached to the sack with a suitable adhesive, having a portion of the image representing the creatures head and upper mouth fixed to said flat end and having a portion of the creature representing the creatures lower mouth, body, etc. fixed elsewhere on the sack below the upper mouth.

With such a puppet, a hand may be inserted in the sack with the fingers positioned between the flat end and the upper hinge piece and with the palm below the crease so that pivotal motion of the fingers relative to the palm causes a simulated mouth movement of the creature.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a basic embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section of the puppet of FIG. 1, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of another embodiment of my invention illustrating the use of simulated arms, an extended upper mouth, and a movable tongue;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of another embodiment of my invention illustrating the use of flaps extending from the'mouth of the creature represented;

FIG. 5 is a view' in perspective of another embodiment of my invention illustrating the use of a separate movable jaw and tongue; and

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of another embodiment of my invention illustrating the use of an image of the whole body of a creature and illustrating the tab which is provided for the simulated mouth structure.

In describing the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, I illustrate an embodiment of my invention in its more simple basic form. A paper sack 10 provides the foundation for a puppet. For use as a puppet, the sack 10 is inverted from its usual position so that it open end 12 is at the bottom and its closed end 14 is at the top.

The type of sack I prefer to use is creased so that its closed end 14 is relatively flat or planar. Such a sack is creased so that it may be folded flat and subsequently 1 opened for use when desired. Of particular importance to my invention is the crease 16. The crease 16 forms the pivot of a hinge portion of the sack 10. The hinge portion comprises an upper pivotable piece 18 which is pivotable around the crease 16 and which is fixed at its outer edge 20 to an edge of the fiat end 14 of the sack. The body 22 of the sack is the stationary member of the hinge portion of the sack.

The hinge portion of the sack 10 permits movement of the sack 10 as illustrated in phantom in FIG. 2. The flat end 14 moves to the position 14a and the upper pivotable piece 18 of the hinge moves to the position 18a. As I will explain more fully below, it is this movement I use to represent mouth movements of the creature which the puppet represents.

3 On the sack 10, illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, I

have attached an image of a well known creature, Santa Claus. The beard is represented by cotton 24 glued to the sack body 22 and by cotton 26 glued to the closed flat end i14 of the sack 10. A piece of paper 28 is attached to the top flat end 14 of the sack 10 and extends beyond the limits of the sack to represent Santas hat. Other features of the creature represented can be drawn or painted directly on the sack, or preferably on sheets of paper glued to the sack. Alternatively, photographs could be cut out and attached to the sack.

A small piece of paper may be pasted near the edge 20 of the sack to represent a tongue 30. The edge 20 is the dividing line between the upper mouth of the creature and the lower mouth. The upper mouth is positioned on the top rflat end 14 of the sack 20 while the lower mouth is positioned below the edge 20.

To operate a puppet which is an embodiment of my invention, a person extends his hand into the open end 12 of the sack 10' until at least one but preferably all of his fingers are positioned between the fiat end 14 and the upper hinge piece 18 of the sack. The palm of the hand will be positioned below the crease 16. Then, by moving the fingers in a reciprocating pivotal motion relative to the palm, the flat end 14 of the sack 10 is moved between the position 14 and the position 14a to simulate mouth movements.

In FIG. 3, I illustrate a possible modification of my invention. A sheet of paper is glued on the flat end 114 of the sack i110 and extends downwardly beyond the edge 120 of the top flat end 114 to represent the nose 115 and upper mouth of the creature represented. The lower mouth 117 or jaw of this creature, a lion, is drawn or painted either directly on the sack body 122 or preferably on a piece of paper attached to the sack body 122.

A piece of paper representing a tongue 130 may be attached either to the hinge pivot crease 116 or to the bottom of the upper pivotable hinge piece 118 near the pivot crease 116. With this manner of construction, operation of the puppet by pivoting the fingers as described, provides a better representation of the body movements of the creature since the tongue 130 can move somewhat freely between the upper and the lower mouth.

In FIG. 3, I also illustrate the attachment of arms 121 and 123 (or paws) to the creature. These arms are sheets of paper glued to the body 122 of the sack. Alternatively, they could be pivotally attached to the sack body by means of paper fasteners.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate yet other embodiments of my invention. FIG. 4 shows a puppet with outward extending flaps 201 to represent the bill of a duck. The upper flap is attached to the fiat end portion 214 of sack 210, and the lower flap is attached to the sack body 222. Such flaps accentuate the mouth movements represented by the pivotal movement of the hinge portion of the sack and provide a more accurate representation of this particular creature being represented.

In FIG. 5, I illustrate a still further modification of my invention. The face of the creature above and including its upper month 315 is glued on the flat end 3-14 of the sack 310. However, the lower mouth or jaw 317 is drawn or painted on a separate sheet of paper which is attached either to the pivot crease 316, or to the underside of the upper pivotable hinge piece 318. This permits the jaw 317 to move relative to both the sack body 310 and the upper mouth 315 when the puppet is operated. A separate tongue 330 may be attached intermediate the upper mouth 315 and the jaw 317 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. *6 shows other modifications I have found desirable. First, I represent the whole body of the creature represented by drawing or painting its image on a sheet of paper 403 which is attached to the body 422 of the sack 410. Such modification is most desirable if the image is large enough to extend down past the open end 412 of the sack 410. This image may be easily adapted to tune! tion like a paper doll. Dresses, etc. provided with bend able tabs may be attached to the creatures body 403 in the .well known manner.

FIG. 6 also illustrates a mouth construction I often prefer to use. As previously described, the portion of the creatures head above and including the upper mouth 415 is glued to the fiat end 414 of the sack 410. The lower mouth 417 is glued to the sack body 422 but is provided with a circular tab 435 extending upwardly from each side of the creatures mouth. The center area below the upper mouth 415 of the image has no adhesive between it and the flat end 414 of the sack. The tab 435 may be inserted between the image of the upper mouth 415 and the fiat end 414. This tab slides up and down as the puppet is operated to represent mouth movements. The tab 435 retains the lips of the creature in close proxirnity to more accurately represent a human mouth.

The construction of my puppet can provide a very entertaining learning experience for children. Older children with more developed artistic skills can draw the images of various creatures on a paper, cut them out properly and glue them to a sack with a suitable adhesive in the manner I have described. In this manner, a complete puppet show of many characters can be produced.

For children with less developed artistic skills, the images of creatures can be printed on sheets of paper and bound in book form. The images can be of the punchout type and have a suitable adhesive on their rear surfaces. A child would simply punch out the images he wishes and glue them to a paper sack commonly found around the house.

It is to be understood that while the detailed drawings and specific examples given describe preferred embodiments of my invention, they are for the purposes of illustration only; that the apparatus of the invention is not limited to the precise details and conditions disclosed; for example, the image of the creature could be of plastic or paper mache; and that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A hand puppet comprising (a) a sack in a selected position having an open bottom end for permitting insertion of a hand into the sack, and a relatively flat top end, said sack being suitably creased near the flat end to form a hinge portion, the hinge portion comprising an upper pivotable piece fixed at its outer edge to an edge of the flat end of the sack and pivotally connected by a crease to the body of the sack; and

(b) an image of a creature attached to the sack with a suitable adhesive, having a portion of the image representing the creatures upper mouth fixed to said flat end and having a portion of the creature representing the creatures lower mouth fixed elsewhere on the sack below the upper mouth wherein the center area of the upper mouth portion of the image is not attached to the fiat end of the sack; and the lower mouth portion of the image has a tab extending between said flat end and said center area of the upper mouth portion wherein a hand may be inserted in the sack with the fingers positioned between the fiat end and the upper hinge piece and with the palm below said crease whereby pivotal motion of the fingers relative to the palm causes a simulated mouth movement of the creature.

2. A hand puppet comprising (a) a sack in a selected position having an open bottom end for permitting insertion of a hand into the sack, and a relatively flat top end, said sack being suitably creased near the fiat end to form a hinge portion, the hinge portion comprising an upper pivotable piece fixed at its outer edge to an edge of the flat end of the sack and pivotally connected by a crease to the body of the sack; and

(b) an image of a creature attached to the sack having a portion of the image representing the creatures upper mouth fixed to said fiat end and having a portion of the creature representing the creatures lower mouth fixed elsewhere on the sack below the upper mouth, wherein a simulated tongue is fixed by suitable adhesive between the upper pivotable hinge piece and the sack body wherein a hand may be inserted in the sack with the fingers positioned between the flat end and the upper hinge piece and with the palm below said crease whereby pivotal motion of the fingers relative to the palm causes a simulated mouth movement of the creature.

3. A puppet according to claim 2,

wherein the tongue is fixed to the upper pivotable hinge piece.

4. A puppet according to claim 3,

wherein the portion of the image representing the lower References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 997,063 7/1911 Hordich 46-l1 2,811,807 11/1957 Swann 46 l26 X 3,442,043 5/1969 Panzer 46154 X F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner 15 E. KRAUSE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

